by Jill Sanders
Roman was working the ferry that day so even he couldn’t help pass the time. Minutes seemed like hours as she waited to see the bus drive by the store. She’d never been away from Reagan so long. It was still two hours before the bus was due to arrive and she was going crazy.
“Why don’t you go out with the next ferry and keep Roman company?” Jenny asked, leaning on the counter.
She sighed and looked at her friend. “Is it that obvious?”
Jenny laughed. “You’re driving me nuts.”
“Fine, I guess it couldn’t hurt. Besides, it’s dead around here anyway.”
“I made some brownies last night.” Jenny nodded to a plate under the counter. “I bet Roman would like some.”
She smiled and took the plate. “We should sell these.”
Jenny’s eyebrows went up. “I’m not that into baking to keep up with the demand.” She smiled. “Besides, I only bake for friends.”
“The whole town is your friend.” Missy laughed as she jogged out the door to catch the ferry.
“Hey, this is a nice surprise,” Roman said as she walked in.
“I brought brownies.” She smiled. “I bothered Jenny enough that she gave us the entire plate.” She held them up and wiggled her eyebrows.
Roman laughed. “Can the day go any slower?” he asked when she sat next to him.
“Sheesh! I know.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe it.”
He chuckled and pulled her close for just a moment. “We’ll make the last two hours go by faster.” She smiled and hugged him.
***
Cole glanced down at the red dot on his phone and cursed. He’d been sitting outside of the small house for almost an hour. Still, when he rang the door, no one answered, least of all his brother.
The most he could tell was that the place was well kept. The metal roof looked fairly new and the siding was freshly painted a light teal. Even the white picket fence out front was spotless. He wondered whose house it was, and why his brother’s cell phone would be left there, unattended.
Roman never went anywhere without his phone. Then he remembered the day his brother had left and felt a sick feeling wash over him, causing him to curse once more.
Just then, a dark-haired kid rode his bike up to the house. When the kid dumped his bike in the front yard, Cole jumped from the truck and rushed over.
“Hey,” he called out, and the boy turned around quickly and glared at him.
“Hey,” he finally said when he realized Cole wasn’t going to cross the fence line.
“Do you know Roman Grayton?” he called out.
The kid squinted his eyes at him, and Cole felt a wave of deja vu hit him. Then the kid put his hand up and blocked out the sun. “Yeah.”
Cole sighed. “Is he staying here?”
The kid shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Why?”
“He’s my brother and I’m looking for him.”
“He’s down at the docks,” the kid said, and then he turned to go into the house.
“Which docks?” he called out, but the kid was already inside. Cole smiled when he heard the locks click behind him. Smart kid.
The docks were less than three blocks away, but he drove since he didn’t know exactly where he’d end up. He spotted his brother’s car right away, since there were only two large buildings along the road.
Pulling in next to Roman’s car, he sighed and looked at the sign above the door.
“Dog’s Landing” was etched in thick wood and painted a bright teal. The shop looked like a free-for-all type of store, not unlike many he’d seen in his life.
When he walked in, he realized it wasn’t actually like any he’d seen before. While most shops like this were cluttered and unorganized, this one was spotless. Its narrow aisles were neatly filled with groceries, gifts, and everything one would need on a vacation stay in the area, including bait and fishing tackle.
Walking up to the counter, he smiled at the pretty brunette behind the counter.
“Can I help you?”
“I hope so…”—he glanced at her name tag—“Jenny. I’m looking for my brother, Roman.”
She smiled and nodded. “He’s helping Missy out on the boats today.” Cole felt his fingers start to tingle.
“Missy? Marissa?” His voice sounded hollow.
When Jenny nodded, he felt a wave of relief rush through him, followed quickly by anger. “Where can I find him?” he asked between clenched teeth.
Jenny blinked and looked around. “Um, the boat should be coming back”—she looked down at her watch—“in about ten minutes.”
He nodded and left the store without another word. He stepped out on the large deck of the pier, reached in his pocket for his phone, and dialed Marcus.
“Hey.” Hearing his brother’s voice helped calm him a little.
“You’ll never believe where I am.”
“Aren’t you back from Hawaii yet?”
“Yes, I’m in Carrabelle, chasing down our crazy brother, who appears to have found Marissa.”
“What?” Cole could hear he had his brother’s full attention. “Have you seen her?”
“No, not yet.” The phone was silent for a while.
“Maybe you should come back.”
“What?” Cole blinked a few times.
“Listen, if Roman hasn’t called to tell us that he’s found Marissa, maybe he has a good reason.”
Cole shook his head, not sure if he was hearing Marcus right. “Are you nuts?”
“Maybe he’s trying to convince her not to get spooked away again.”
He thought about it and felt his heart skip. Damn, why hadn’t he thought of it. Marissa might still be running from whatever had caused her to leave all those years ago, and if anyone could convince her to come back, it was Roman.
He’d called his brother a few times and he’d had been very vague with what he’d told him, never once mentioning where he was or what he was doing.
Chapter Thirteen
When Roman and Missy drove up to the house, they were both a little shocked to see Reagan’s bike laying in the front yard. He had gotten home early and they rushed in the front door and both of them engulfed him in a hug until the boy started complaining.
“What do you say we go have some pizza and you tell us all about your trip?” Missy suggested.
“Augh.” Reagan surprised them by rolling his eyes. “I’m kind of pizza’d out. How about a burger at Bayside?”
Roman smiled and nodded. “I could use a burger. If we can drive your car.” He smiled when she nodded. Her narrow driveway could only fit one car at a time, so he quickly backed his sedan up and parked it on the street then pulled out the classic and waited while Missy and Reagan loaded up.
“Oh,” Reagan said as he pulled out of the driveway. “Your brother came by today.”
Roman slammed on the breaks a little too quickly. “My…” He turned and looked at Reagan, then glanced at Missy, who had turned pale. “What did he look like? When?” He shook his head.
“He was here, sitting in an old truck when I got home.” Reagan shrugged his shoulders. “He looked like a surfer. You know, Mom, the one we saw on that ad in your magazine.”
Roman turned to Missy. “I don’t know how he found me. I haven’t told him anything.”
He watched her close her eyes and sigh. “It was bound to happen, sooner or later.” When she looked at him again, he could see the fear in her eyes.
“He must have Lo-jacked my phone.” He chuckled. “You know how he is.” He brushed a hand down her shoulder. When she jumped, he pulled the car into park and pulled her closer. “Missy, I swear, you’re still safe here.”
“Why wouldn’t she be? Is your brother a bad guy?” Reagan asked from the back seat.
“Oh.” Missy covered her mouth with her hand and spun around. “No, honey. Cole is wonderful. He’s….” She looked at Roman for a moment. “He’s our relative.” She sighed. “Maybe we can tell you the story ov
er a burger?” she asked after hearing Roman’s stomach growl loudly. He shrugged his shoulders.
“The brownies were my lunch,” he said.
Missy smiled. He could see that the smile didn’t reach her eyes and feared that she was once more thinking of running. Even with everything she’d built here, he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to pick up and leave if it meant keeping Reagan safe.
He drove slowly towards Bayside Burgers down the coastal highway, enjoying the warm air coming off the Gulf. He’d flipped on the radio to the oldies station, which only seemed natural in a classic car.
When the news bulletin came on mentioning something about a hurricane, he pulled over and turned it up so they could listen.
“Gulf coast states are preparing to be hit by Tropical Storm Donna, which is set to make landfall between Southeastern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle around midday Thursday. The National Hurricane Center has issued warnings stretching from…”
He reached over and turned the radio down.
“Well?” He turned to Missy. “What is your plan for hurricanes?”
She chuckled. “Tie everything down and wait them out. Half of the time it’s not nearly as bad as they’ve predicted.” She shrugged. “We’ve waited out a few since being here.” She glanced at Reagan and smiled. “Now we’ve got the new roof and clean gutters.” She looked at him and nodded. “Thanks to you, the house should be ready.”
He could tell she was nervous and knew she wanted to say more, but not in front of Reagan. Pulling the car back onto the highway, he drove faster to the burger joint.
When they got there, he pulled Missy aside. “I’ll be right in. I have a…. call to make.” She frowned but nodded then went in the diner with Reagan.
Pulling out his phone, he decided to send a text to Cole instead since he didn’t feel like arguing with his brother at the moment.
-Heard you stopped by. Thanks for not sticking around. Give her some time. She’s warming up to the idea of coming home soon. R
When he walked in, he slid into the booth next to Missy and glanced down at the menu, not really feeling hungry anymore. Still, he ordered a burger and waited for her to make the next move.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, she leaned forward and took Reagan’s hand. “Cole is my brother.” She sighed. “My adopted brother. I have three adopted brothers and one sister.” She looked to him for just a moment. “Roman is one of them as well.”
“But,” Reagan said, shaking his head, sending his dark hair flying. “If you two are brother and sister…”
“Adopted. Your mother came into the family when she was… your age.” He looked at her and smiled when she nodded. “I was almost a year older.” He smiled and reached across the table to take the kid’s other hand. “We had both come from bad situations.” He looked to her to take over.
“I was raised by some pretty crazy people.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment. “This wonderful woman, an angel really—her name was Lilly—she helped me escape the prison I had been born and raised in and brought me to live with the Graytons.” She nodded to Roman. “I lived there until someone tracked me down and threatened me. Then I ran away.” She looked off, out towards the window.
“What about you?” Reagan turned to him after a moment of silence.
“Me?” He blinked and dropped the kid’s hand.
“Sure, did Lilly help you escape too?”
He sighed. “No, not really. Yes, she was the one who brought me to live with my new family.”
“Did you escape a prison, too?” he asked.
Shaking his head, he reached over and took Missy’s hand in his. He wouldn’t have the power to recount his story without feeling her strength.
“I had a different kind of prison. My real father”—he swallowed the foul taste in his mouth that always came with the thought of the evil man—“was a boxer. He was the kind of man that took his anger out on his son all the time. When I was seven, my father lost a match and when he got home, decided to take his frustration out on me. I ended up in the hospital for two weeks. Then Lilly came and took me away.” He hadn’t realized tears were streaming down his face until Missy reached over and wiped them away gently with her fingers.
“Roman’s the one that taught me how to box in junior high. There was a group of girls that were dead set on picking on me.” She smiled at him. “Then, in gym class one day, I showed them what I could do with the punching bag and they never bothered me again.” She squeezed his hand.
Roman turned to Reagan. “That’s why I started Spring Haven Home for kids, where we grew up. I wanted to help other kids who had come from bad situations.”
Reagan leaned forward. “What do you do there?”
“We help kids, give them everything they need. A place to stay until they can find a new family, teaching them to read and write.” He looked to Missy and smiled. “Teaching them to defend themselves.”
“Can I come and see it sometime?” Reagan asked.
Roman’s smile fell away and he felt his heart jump. Then he looked over at Missy. “If it’s okay with your mother.”
***
Missy felt tears build up behind her eyes and had to look out the window once more. She was saved from answering when their burgers arrived. She could hardly swallow a bite of her meal through the lump in her throat.
She wanted more than anything to go home. To allow Reagan to know her family. To visit Roman’s home for kids. But she knew the risks. She’d been locked in the compound more than once and knew what would happen if they ever got their hands on Reagan.
History was full of psycho religious cults; lives lost, families separated, children being sacrificed. No, she’d come too far to protect herself and Reagan against this.
As they drove the stretch of road back to her small home, she began to organize a plan in her mind. Pain stabbed at her heart when she thought about leaving Carrabelle, but at this point, it was the only way to protect her son.
The next day, she started bright and early. Before Roman was up, she had packed two bags and hidden them in the trunk of her car.
They were busy preparing the store for the upcoming storm, but during her break, she drove to the bank and pulled out all of her money and shoved it in the trunk of the car in a bag. It wasn’t much, since most of what she had had been put back into the store.
Just the thought of leaving everything she’d built had her heart breaking a little more, but fear was overwhelming.
They had spent the evening at home, locking everything down for the storm that was set to hit them the next day.
As she lay in bed with Roman that night, she knew it would be their last together. She’d tried to fool herself into thinking it could work out with him—living here, hiding from her family, both of them. But, if Cole could find them so easily—she closed her mind to the thought of what else could happen.
Rolling over, she decided to make the most of her last night with him. When she started kissing him, his hands moved up into her hair, pulling her closer. She trailed her fingers over his chest, enjoying the play of muscles and taut skin.
Her legs held him down, pinned to the bed, as she ran her mouth down over his chest where her fingers had just been. His fingers dug into her shoulders, holding her to him. She smiled when she heard him groan her name.
When she gently pulled his shorts down his hips, he cupped her elbows and brought her back up to him. Then he was rolling and pinning her to the bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He almost growled it.
For a moment, her heart refused to beat. Then he smiled down at her. “You’re torture won’t work on me tonight.”
She released the breath she’d been holding. Then he was kissing her, causing her breath to hitch for different reasons. He gently removed her nightshirt and then her sleeping shorts. When she lay underneath him totally naked, he pulled back and looked down at her.
She sat up and took his face in her hands, kissin
g him like it was her last time. She poured every ounce of emotion into the kiss. Her skin heated next to his and she pulled him closer until, finally, he filled her completely. Dual moans echoed in the room as their bodies moved against one another.
Finally, she threw her head back and felt herself slide. He stiffened above her and she opened her eyes to watch him in pure delight.
When he lay down beside her, his fingers running over her skin, he whispered, “Beautiful.” Then he broke her heart further by saying, “I love you.” He looked deep into her eyes and said it again.
Tears streamed down her face and when he leaned closer to wipe them away, she took his face in her hands and whispered, “I love you too. I always have. I always will.”
Chapter Fourteen
The rain started early that next morning. Roman stood outside on the front porch, drinking his coffee and watching the sky grow darker. Missy’s words played over and over again in his mind. She’d told him that she’d loved him. Always had. He’d never been happier than at that moment.
He heard the front door open and close and turned as Missy stepped out, fully dressed.
“Going somewhere?” He’d yet to pull on anything more than shorts and a T-shirt.
She nodded. “I’m going to take Reagan really quick to the shop. I want to get a few more things before the storm hits.”
He smiled. “I can do that.” He pulled her closer, feeling her tense slightly.
“No.” She shook her head. “I promised him I’d take him.” She smiled and then leaned down and kissed him until he forgot what they’d been talking about. “It shouldn’t take too long.” She smiled and then turned away.
“The storm’s set to hit in a few hours,” he called after her. She nodded and waved as she walked down the walkway towards her car. His was still parked in the street from the other night. He watched the pair drive away and waved as they headed towards the store.
He’d spent many hours waiting out a hurricane since living along the coast. Most were just tropical storms, but some had been pretty bad. Donna had not progressed to something locals feared. At least not yet. If he’d learned one thing living along the coast, it was to always be prepared.
